Authorities in eastern Sudan reported on Monday that approximately 700 Sudanese nationals are stranded on both sides of the Gallabat border crossing between Sudan and Ethiopia as violence intensifies in neighboring Ethiopian districts.
According to government sources, 321 individuals are stuck in Gallabat on the Sudanese side of the border, while around 400 others are trapped in the Metema Yohannes district of Ethiopia.
The situation is further exacerbated by ongoing clashes between the Ethiopian military and the Fano militia in the Amhara region. The U.N. refugee agency announced on Friday that two Sudanese refugees had died due to cross-border firing.
In Ethiopia, three camps currently host 2,652 Sudanese refugees. The border remains closed to commercial travel and has seen an increase in military presence, according to the state government of Gedaref.
Military sources report that Ethiopia has deployed troops to the border area and is actively apprehending Fano commanders and their families in Metema. The conflict in Amhara, which erupted in early August, has disrupted a peace agreement established in 2020, which had ended a two-year conflict between the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) and the federal government.
